News

Forget the iPod mini, I want an ePod

By Dennis Lloyd ● Thursday, January 15, 2004

“For a product like the iPod, I would bet that most of these kids already have them and those who don’t, would want them but can’t afford them. Wouldn’t it be a huge boon to Apple if they could provide students a reasonable reason to buy an iPod? I think that Apple should move towards offering an educational version of the iPod. Let’s call it the ePod. And it wouldn’t just be an iPod for a discount. This would be a modified iPod with a 1GB hard drive, a more robust calendar, and most importantly, a voice recorder. Now students could record their lectures and save them alongside their music. All for a very palatable price of $99.”

Comments

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I’m sorry, but I think this idea is way off. As a college student, I think I have an understanding of the demographic and can say with a comfortable amount of certainty that an epod would not be successful. For one thing, not that many college students record lectures. With voice recorders as cheap as they are, you can pretty much assume that if students wanted something to record lectures, they could get it. Note taking, either with pencil or computer, is still the prefered choice in the classroom. In theory, telling your parents that you want an “epod” because it will help you with school might get you one, but that could be said about anything. I could tell my parents that I wanted an iPod because music helps me study and keeps up my moral in times of stress. Secondly, a more robust calender, though a good idea, is not enough to rope in anybody not already thinking of getting an ipod. The calendar function on the iPod is robust enough in my opinion and anything more would be infeasible. Thirdly, iPods themselves are already popular on college campuses. I think you are off on your assumption that apple only gets the demographic fresh out of college. An every day stroll on any campus will tell you that the iPod is very much the digital music player of choice. It is a status symbol as well as it gives kids who are very much into the hip new thing, 20 or so more cool points.

Posted by dave in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:16 AM (CST)

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“For a product like the iPod, I would bet that most of these kids already have them and those who don’t, would want them but can’t afford them”

Are you suggesting that the iPod has reached market saturation? That’s way off the mark.

Posted by Jason in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:22 AM (CST)

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This news item was the most unrealistic one i have seen in a while. Good gracious.

Would you like anything else for $99? a mini color tv screen? Tivo like abilities?

Posted by me in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:28 AM (CST)

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If Apple didn’t think that the existing iPod market was approaching saturation, then they wouldn’t have launched a lower-end model with thinner margins (the Mini iPod) to attempt to penetrate the larger market of cheaper MP3 players.

In fact, the latest Apple quaterly results showed a decrease in gross margins, so they are facing price pressure on existing sales. But that may be due to their weak G4 offerings.

Posted by Saturation in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:31 AM (CST)

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Firstly, as Austin Powers says “...and I want a gold toilet seat, but it’s just not gonna happen is it ?”....baby.

Secondly, of course the iPod hasn’t reached saturation point, how many people could you name right now that want one ?

Damnit, I have 2.

And Thirdly, Apple released the iPod-mini for one goo reason, to compete with lower priced models.

And Finally, a (would-be) quote from Jim royale of the Brit TV show ‘The Royale Family’

“Saturation point, my @r$e !”

Stupidest news item…ever.

Posted by WebBat in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:50 AM (CST)

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I don’t understand these comments from a business perspective. Apple is currently limited in ipod & ipod mini sales by the constraints of production. Lowering prices now would be idiotic and would not garner additional market share because production could not keep up. The mini is already massively backordered the the current price. If, in the future, Apple can produce more ipods than are ordered, then you can think about blasting them for not introducing a cheaper product to increase market share.

I suspect that Apple will reduce the price of the mini to $199 within 2 months of eliminating the initial backorder lag (perhaps this fall?). I also expect that they will continue to field a 3-9 gig product that will progressively drop in price, as opposed to their pricing strategy with the regular ipod to maintain the price point and increase capacity over time.

Posted by terry in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:51 AM (CST)

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well, i support the idea, but i have one other point. like the miniPod, the price of a 512 mp3 player is $200. $50 more for 4 GB is not surprising. but also, if apple did consider a 1GB ePod, it should use RAM, and have USB connection. RAM is indestructible, unlike hard disks which break when you drop them. but yeah, that would get the price up again. depends what you want, and unless 100,000 people want it too, apple wont release it. start a petition, keep it goin. i wont buy one, coz i have 2 iPods, but i support the iDea.
pete

Posted by pete in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:56 AM (CST)

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Thanks for wasting our time again, iPodlounge!

Posted by Biff in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 10:57 AM (CST)

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I hope apple has some massive economy of scale on the iPod mini if they want to entertain the possibility of a price drop. The iPod mini contains a drive that retails for twice the price ($500), in fact sites have been mentioning that you should purchase the mini just so you can break it open and have the drive for half the price.

Posted by Jason in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 11:01 AM (CST)

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Why create an affordable one when the “expensive” one is selling just fine? Plus, since when is a music player “educational”. If you want the calendar, addressbook features, buy a $99 palm-like device.

Posted by narco in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 12:07 PM (CST)

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Creative were selling their 4GB MuVo at CES for $199, and this uses the same drive as the mini iPod. SO I expect $199 to be a common price point this category of mp3 player after the initial demand surge from early adopters (or gadget junkies who already seem to have *several iPods).

Posted by PriceDrops in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 12:10 PM (CST)

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ePod? Wtf?

Let me clear something up. I’m about to graduate college, and during my frosh year, I invested in a $400 pda in hopes of it helping me stay organized.

Yeah, I used it for a week, and a couple months later, I sold it on eBay.

What are you thinking? What?

Posted by Schiano in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 12:22 PM (CST)

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someone needs to filter these “news” stories

Posted by jr in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 12:33 PM (CST)

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AHAHAHAHAH… can’t… type… $99…ePod… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH. Good gracious! How many decent MP3 players can you think of for $99? Let’s all stick to this wild idea I have, don’t know if you’ve heard of it… it’s called REALITY!

Posted by Sam in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 1:07 PM (CST)

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I don’t really think that apple needs to release an ePod, and I don’t even think that they need to release the iPodmini. I mean, they have like a 30% market share already, why do they need lower-end models? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Posted by Freedom Fighter in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 1:21 PM (CST)

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“...why do they need lower-end models?”

To get the other 70% of the market.

Posted by Atomic Bomb in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 1:50 PM (CST)

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i guess…

Posted by Freedom Fighter in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 1:52 PM (CST)

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been reading ipodlounge news and comments for a while, need to respond to this one. I dont really cae about the news story in general, but some of you comments interested me. First, to the person who said “thanks for wasting my time, ipodlounge”, and the other who suggested they filter news stories here on the site.

I think the object of ipodlounge is to present all news stories relevant to the ipod, whether they are stupid or not. I, personally, would not want the news filtered. I have a choice, I can read the article, or I can skip it. You all have that same choice.

And how much time was actually wasted. Five minutes at most? And though the idea of an ePod is stupid, the article did manage to get a few of you to respond with comments, so is any article that encourages thought really a waste of time?

Anyway, thats my take on it.

You regulars cant go blasting the site every time an article is posted that you dont like or you think is stupid. Not everyone will have the same opinion as you. This is a site for anyone and everyone interested in the iPod, no special privilages.

Posted by vampriter in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 2:20 PM (CST)

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Posted by mayor quimby in Irvine, CA on January 15, 2004 at 2:20 PM (CST)

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It cracks me up how people take the time to say how much of a waste this article was. Yeah, i disagree with the idea too but if nothing else, it’s a fresh idea. Not just another writer saying how great the iPod Mini is. That’s the great thing about ipodlounge, you get to read every idea pertaining to this great product that we all love. See I just wasted 30 seconds typing this response. And the cycle continues